The invention relates to an arrangement for reducing microorganisms. The invention furthermore relates to the use of such an arrangement for therapy, in particular in the mouth, jaw, and facial area.
Known from WO 01/87416 A1 is such an arrangement and a method for reducing or destroying microorganisms, such as bacteria, using a light-activatable substance and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Using the light-activatable substance, in particular a stain, the microorganisms are sensitized and/or stained, and they are killed using irradiation with light of an appropriate wavelength and energy density as a result of the selective action and/or staining. The principle of action of PDT is based on the physical effect of energy transmission to the light-activatable substance, which is also called a photosensitizer. From there, the energy for reactions can be made available on the cell membrane. The energy produced by means of a radiation device, especially a laser device, is thus concentrated on the microorganisms and the equilibrium of reactions that also occur in the non-irradiated “normal” milieu are shifted and as a consequence the microorganisms are destroyed.
Furthermore known from EP 0 637 976 B1 is the use of a light-sensitizing substance or compound or photosensitizer (PS) during production of a medication for use during disinfection or sterilization of tissues in the oral cavity or a wound or lesion in the oral cavity by destroying microbes in a periodontal pocket that are associated with an illness, in the region between the tooth and the gum. The tissue, wound, or lesion is contacted with the photosensitizer, the microbes associated with the illness absorbing the photosensitizer. The tissue, wound, or lesion is irradiated with laser light at a wavelength absorbed by the photosensitizer. The reduction in germs in this combined stain and laser treatment is described for various germs and photosensitzers in the form of solutions with, among other things, methylene blue and toluidine blue in various fairly low concentrations, specifically from 0.01 to 0.00125% (weight per volume), whereby furthermore the effect of the energy density applied is indicated. HeNe lasers with a wavelength of 634 nm and an output of 7.3 mW and GaAs lasers with a wavelength of 660 nm and an output of 11 mW are used as light sources.